MORE DEATHS IN BANGLADESH HARDLY FRONT PAGE NOW

The senseless violence in poverty stricken Bangladesh carries on with two more deaths through petrol bombs thrown at trucks the drivers of which and indeed their helpers receive little pay and nothing when there aren't working so little wonder they are braving the terrorists who are inflicting such chaos on the country just because Zia has spat the dummy out of the pram, boycotted elections and then a year later moans because she can't influence government through ordinary channels and whips her supporters up into a frenzy which makes the run of the mill hartals look like a picnic in the park. On my last visit the military still had control and the country was much more stable although listening to the prats from the British embassy you would have thought they were in another galaxy dreaming about democracy and that military rule was so bad, not so bad if you are on the line between hunger and dinner. I looked up the temperature for the coming weeks , it's sunny and warm in Bangladesh but if we revert to plan b and come straight back to India and go up to the narrow gauge railways it will be very chilly at about 12-13 degrees C. I've been to Sainsburys and picked up some sweets and nibbels for the trips to sustain me when the food is just too awful. I've found my duck tape round around a pencil which is my quick fix kit for most items whilst on the road. The medical kit needs a bit of sewlecting from, as we only have hand lugguage its no use taking needles, anyway lets hope we arent that bad they need to be used, now anti burn cream theres a thought.

It was very busy at work for a Friday we even had a meeting in the afternoon but i was rewarded by very quiet motorwayus which is mego weird for a Friday afternoon in the M56/M6 although it was all coming to a halt after Knutsford heading south but that is the same any day. I ordered up a new Australian tri axle decker which John Lidstone seems to have already got but there has been no email to confirm, perhaps they've sold out, they are doing one of the Chinese open top tour buses next. From this you'll take it that Buses mag was out today, more operators biting the dust but always a few more people around to risk their shilling on a new venture. Today would have been the right weather for Manchester or Leeds etc but tomorrow stills looks as if it will be sunny, places like Coventry, Hull, Doncaster come to mind even Dudley where winter sun isn't such a pain.

I've just finished the first of the two Austrian archive films and am burning the master disc, clips will go on Youtube this evening. Then I'll be starting the Vienna archive volume which again features some amazing early footage from the capital and some of the ancient stock which ran in the 1960s including the American cars. There is an amazing ammount of coverage produced by our friend Alan Mortimer taken around the capital of light rail, buses and the S bahn. Also we have rare shots of the old trolleybuses. A couple of links to recent Youtube archive oldie releases that i put up earlier this week just to keep the interest of readers on a wider front. Superb footage by Martin Rickitt.